Three major infrastructural projects to begin this year – Minister Patterson

Construction on the bypass road linking the East Coast of Demerara to the East Bank; the first phase of the Linden to Lethem Road and the Boardwalk for the seawall, are all expected to begin at least by April of this year.
In relation to the bypass road, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson said that the Export/Import Bank of India is currently in the process of advertising for the consultancy.
“The contract was $50M, and $1M of that was for the consultancy,” the Minister said. He explained that since the project is being funded by the Export-Import Bank of India, the consultancy firm will be chosen from that country, and would then have to get the approval of the Guyana Government.
“That is what we are in the process of doing right now,” Patterson noted.
The Minister was unable to give the actual date of commencement of this project, but said that it is shaping up to begin by mid-year.
The new roadway will serve as a corridor for communities on the East Bank of Demerara, including Perseverance, Mocha, Providence, Eccles, Peter’s Hall and Aubrey Barker Road.
Instead of having to battle the hectic Georgetown traffic, the new road will afford motorists the option to divert from the East Coast and onto the bypass road to access the East Bank of Demerara. According to the Ministry, “the new road link will also result in approximately 1,010 acres of unutilised lands becoming available to create a modern housing scheme, which can support some 2,200 households.”
This new thoroughfare would assist in catering for the increased demands for house lots in Region Four. The Ministry of Finance had said that the project will see “about 120 industrial and commercial plots becoming available for economic ventures that can facilitate value-added manufacturing activities and create employment opportunities in the new and existing communities within the region.”
Head of the Work Services Group, Geoffrey Vaughn had previously explained that unlike some of the other major roads in the country, the East Coast to East Bank Road will be disability-friendly.
BOARDWALK
As far as the Boardwalk for the seawall is concerned, that is still being finalized between Guyana and those administering the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF).
“They are coming here to Guyana during the first week in March for us to move that forward,” the Infrastructure Minister said. He noted that this project too, is slated to begin during the first half of 2017.
The boardwalk is expected to enhance the beauty of the Kitty Seawall, which has over the years, been a tourist attraction.
LINDEN TO LETHEM ROAD
Meanwhile, construction on the first 70 miles of the Linden to Lethem Road is also in the process of being finalised. That project will cost a total of US$130M. Some 51 percent of this figure is coming from a grant from the UK, while the remaining funds are being provided to Guyana through a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank.
The first phase of the project covers approximately 122.5 kilometres of road from Linden to Mabura. This includes proper drainage and the construction of a fixed bridge across the Essequibo River at the Kurupukari ferry crossing. This would be approximately 600 metres long.
Minister Patterson had said previously, that the Islamic Development Bank is being engaged in relation to funding for the other phase of the project.